But on Face the Nation, Bachmann didn't exactly answer the question. "Obviously I was speaking metaphorically," she said, adding that Hurricane Irene was "a terrible tragedy."

"The American people have been desperately trying to get the president's attention," she went on. "... that's why I'm running for president, Bob. I want to bring the voice of the American people and their concerns into the White House where their voice hasn't been heard for a long time. They're trying to get the president's attention, and that's the metaphor I was making."

"So ... do you believe that God uses the weather to send people messages?" Schieffer pressed.

"I believe in God," Bachmann said. "I'm not ashamed to say that I believe in God. I'm a woman of faith, and a woman of prayer. But the comments that I made right then was a metaphor, that was very simply what I was doing."